Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.

Saturday, 21 April 2018

Syrian government forces are increasing pressure on militants in the Yarmouk refugee camp area in southern Damascus. According to reprots, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies have made a series minor advances against both ISIS and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham there. The goal of the effort is to force militants to surrender and to to accept a withdrawal agreement. MORE HERE

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SYRIAN ARMY CAPTURES NEW POSITIONS FROM ISIS IN SOUTHERN DAMASCUS (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

They captured the al-Mujahedeen mosque in the southeastern part of al-Hajar al-Aswad district, according to Syrian pro-government sources.

Warplanes of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) and the Russian Aerospace Forces supported the government advance carrying out a new wave of airstrikes against the fuel and ammo depots of ISIS in the al-Hajar al-Aswad district and the Yarmouk refugee camp.

The ISIS-linked news agency Amaq claimed that ISIS fighters had repelled two attack by the SAA on their positions in the southern parts of al-Qadam and Tadamon. ISIS fighters killed six soldiers of the SAA and captured their light weapons, according to the source.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the negotiations between the Damascus movement and ISIS is still ongoing and said that the deal is near.

According to Syrian pro-government activists, ISIS accepted most of the demands of the Damascus government on April 20. However, the SAA and its allies will not stop their military operation until the terrorist group approves and fulfills all the demands.

For the fourth Friday in a row, thousands of Palestinians protested near the separation fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip to demand the recognition of their “right of return,” the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV reported.

Palestinian activists said that this week’s protests had been launched under the name “Friday of the Martyrs and Prisoners.”

Ismail Haniyeh, a political leader of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, participated in the protests near the separation fence for the first time. Hamas’ leader encouraged the protestors to continue their struggle and said that these protests will remove “the border.”

“They [Israeli Army soldiers] are too weak to deter our men, our youth and our women, and these threats are increasing our strength, power, intensity and mass on these borders,” Haniyeh told the crowd of protestors, according to the Palestinian news agency Sama.

The Israeli Army responded to the Palestinian protests with force as it had already done over the last three weeks. According to the al-Mayadeen, four protestors were killed by Israeli Army snipers and more than 500 others were injured with the tear gas and rubber bullets that had been fired by the Israeli Army.

Earlier, the Israeli Army dropped thousands of leaflet over the Gaza Strip warning civilians from participating in the protests and accusing the Hamas Movement of carrying out hostile acts during the protests.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health revealed that the Israeli Army had killed 34 Palestinian protesters and had injured 4,279 others since the outbreak of the protests on March 30. Local sources believe that the Palestinian protests will intensify over the course of the upcoming weeks until it reaches its peak on March 15, the independence day of Israel, that’s known in the Arab World as the “Nakba Day.”

20-04-2018 | 14:51Palestinians in Gaza are holding another mass demonstration against “Israeli” occupation forces for the fourth week in a row dubbed this time “Friday of the Detainees and Martyrs” as part of the Great March of Return.

Many protesters have since Thursday been staying in camps and sit-in tents near the fence separating the besieged Gaza Strip from the “Israeli”-occupied territories.
Tens of thousands of Gazans attend the mass rally.

Meanwhile, the Zionist forces dropped leaflets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, warning Palestinians not to approach the fence, where the regime has deployed Special Forces, sharpshooters and armored vehicles.

Organizers have, however, said they have this week moved the tents 50 meters closer towards the fence “as a message of persistence from our people to the world that we are moving forwards towards our rightful goals.”

Earlier in the day, a Palestinian was wounded when the occupation forces opened fire on a refugee camp in east of Khan Yunis.

The Great March of Return began on March 30 and will last for six weeks. The Zionist entity has responded to the peaceful demonstrations with an iron fist, martyring more than 30 unarmed Palestinians over the past three weeks.

The Tel Aviv regime has come under criticism in the international community by allowing its snipers to open fire on the unarmed protester that come close to the fence.

Palestinian protesters during “The Great March of Retrun” at Gaza border with the occupied territories on Friday, March 30, 2018.

One Palestinian embraced martyrdom and a number of others were injured during the Return Protests in Gaza which witnessed on Friday clashes with the Zionist occupation troops in the border areas.

Thousands of Palestinians on Friday moved to the border areas in Gaza in order to hold the Return protests; consequently, clashes erupted with the Zionist occupation forces which took strict measures in face of the Palestinian move.

On April 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies supported by warplanes of the Syrian Air Force launched a military operation against ISIS in the Yarmouk refugee camp and the al-Hajar al-Aswad district in southern Damascus. The SAA also involved artillery guns and rocket launchers to support the attack.

The development came after negotiations on a possible withdrawal of ISIS members from the area to the eastern Homs desert had collapsed. However, according to local sources, the ISIS members in Yarmouk still have chances to accept a withdrawal agreement.

On the same day, militants in the main Eastern Qalamoun pocket surrendered to the SAA and accepted an agreement under which they will be able to withdraw to the militant held parts of Aleppo and Idlib provinces or to settle their legal status. Militants already began handing over their heavy weapons, including a few battle tanks. The evacuation process is set to be started on April 20.

With the liberation of Eastern Qalamoun and southern Damascus, the SAA will be able to free a large force for further operations against militants across the country. One of the key problem areas is southern Syria where, according to Russian military and diplomatic sources, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and its allies are preparing to launch a large advance in order to capture the city of Daraa.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s TV channel Zvezda, militants are actively receiving support via corridors established in the militant-held areas on the Syrian-Israeli and Syrian-Jordanian borders. The estimated strength of the militants’ force is 12,000 members with hundreds units of military equipment, tens artillery pieces and rocket launchers.

Meanwhile, US State Department accused Damascus and Moscow of preventing the OPCW mission from investigating the site of the alleged chemical attack in Douma.

In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry said that Syrian troops have found “containers with chlorine” from Germany and “smoke grenades” produced in the UK city of Salisbury in the liberated areas of Eastern Ghouta. The region where the alleged chemical attack took place in the town of Douma on April 7.

Syria has handed over to Russia two cruise missiles unexploded after the recent US-led strike on the country, the Russian state-run news agency TASS reported citing a source in the Syrian Defense Ministry. According to the report, the missiles were sent to Russia in good condition by plane on April 18.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on this report yet.

On April 14, the US, the UK and France carried out a massive missile strike on Syrian targets. According to the Pentagon, all 105 launched missiles hit their targets. In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry says that 71 missile had been intercepted.

Had a great time talking with Sarah Chaplin on Monday (16th April 2018). We covered a lot of topics such as ID politics, Tyranny of Correctness, the New Left dystopia, Israel, the Lobby, the Attack on Syria, the court case against me and more.

Sarah Chaplin: My guest on Monday is simultaneously one of the greatest living saxophonists and one of the most controversial and vocal figures involved in debates about anti-semitism and Zionism in the world today: Gilad Atzmon.

Gilad has not only taken absolutely gigantic steps in his own life, (which brought him from serving in the IDF and confronting the horrors of how Israel was treating Palestinians, deciding to take up the tenor sax and come to live in the UK, and that’s just for starters), he is also one of Richie Allen’s favourite guests, a very compelling political analyst and philosopher, a brilliant writer, a stand up comedian, a member of legendary British band the Blockheads, and someone who is so familiar with John Coltrane that he could probably if I asked him play Giant Steps inside out, back to front, upside down, and give us a complete low down on why the tune is regarded as quite so innovative.

If you don’t believe me, here are some quotes:

“Atzmon’s fluid lyricism is in full flow on songbook classics and worldly originals. But as sweet romance morphs to modernist uncertainty, the bittersweet balance and rich emotional palette equally impress.” Financial Times

“A formidable improvisational array…a jazz giant steadily drawing himself up to his full height…”The Guardian.

“The best musician living in the world today”Robert Wyatt

Gilad Atzmon is being threatened with court proceedings by the British Zio-Establishment at the moment, and given what’s going on with Syria, Russia, Israeli and UK politics, I can think of no better moment to chew things over with this incredible and fearless jazzman next week! You never know, I might even persuade him to play his sax live on the show.